Game of Thrones Review And Discussion Of "The Long Night"

I enjoyed the swerves. Sure, I would've enjoyed a big epic fight between Jon and the Night King, but I enjoyed the swerve of Arya being the hero. It made sense. It still bugs me that she screamed while leaping at him though. She's too good to blow the element of surprise like that. Same with the overall lack of big deaths. Not only would they run the risk of having it start to feel like too much, but it keeps us off guard. This was the one time I think everyone went in prepared for just about anyone, except maybe Jon and Dany, to bite the dust, so holding off for when we expect it less keeps it more entertaining.

I have to say, I very strongly agree with everything you've said regarding Bran. I feel like everything you've mentioned here regarding Arya also makes perfect sense and I grow increasingly pleased with the fact that she was the one to strike the final blow, as time goes on. Bran however, is a different story entirely and for me, that dissatisfaction is very much tied to my feeling that the idea of the Three Eyed Raven and his motivations has not been developed here sufficiently at all. Bran seems to suggest his overall "purpose" is to be the memory of humanity. While I suppose I can live with that, I didn't think it was sufficient, and I was very confused by his discussion of the NK trying with "many different three eyed ravens" in the past to wipe out humanity's memory. From the books, I never got the impression there was a three eyed raven prior to Bloodraven. And I also never got the impression that Bloodraven's motivations were entirely benevolent. I also suspected they were very much linked to his own obsession with prophecies and Targs. And as such, the idea that he'd have a goal of making Jon know his true identity and be put on the Iron Throne, through Bran, would make more sense. But with the idea that there have been many other three eyed ravens... now I'm not so sure what to think about that. I do feel that Bran's other "purpose" would be arming Arya with the weapon used to kill the NK. And I could see this happening in the books as well, though differently. There has been speculation that the dagger in the show is serving as a kind of stand in for Dark Sister, the Valyrian Steel sword of Visenya Targaryen that has been lost for quite some time. Bloodraven was the last to have it. So, the speculation I've seen (and I find compelling) was that Bran/Meera would get that sword in Bloodraven's cave and bring it back. At which point, Bran would give that to Arya rather than the dagger. Still, even with all of that being said... I'm not fully satisfied with Bran's story. The rest however, I'm pretty comfortable with.

I have less and less of a problem with it the more i think about it. I consider Arya reborn....when she realized who she was and wanted to be, and left the House of White and Black. Which by the way has a ton of candles/fires (smoke) and is near the sea (salt). Correct me if I'm wrong, Azor Ahai isn't necessarily to become king/queen. I mean, prince/princess that was promised. If it was someone set to become a leader, wouldn't it be the king/queen that was promised? If the North becomes its own kingdom, then Arya would be a princess. It would also make sense, as the Starks have the long history with the whitewalkers, so for the prophecy to be about a Stark princess instead of either Targarian would make sense. Lets not forget, besides all of her sword fighting and assassin training, she also snuck around the Red Keep catching cats (in the books), so she is practiced in stealth. Everything led up to how the night king died. I honestly don't understand the point of Bran.... Is his whole role in the story to be involved in triggering wars and providing proof of who Jon is? No offence intended towards disabled people, but Bran is a useless paperweight in the story at this point. He doesn't do anything, he doesn't have any visible purpose. I really do wish they gave the Night King / whitewalkers more of a backstory. I am disappointed in that they easily killed him in the end without any backstory... I mean, what's the worse that happens if Bran dies? Would I even care? Do the living just fall down and die if the Three Eye Raven dies like the dead do if the Night King dies? Does the world end? If not, what is the real significance of the Three Eye Raven? If Bran is the knowledge of human kind, dies, and civilization survives, then who really cares? I think those loose ends are the parts I'm disappointed with. I wanted more than plot points.... I've been waiting for Alt Shift X to calm down and do an analysis because he was ranting about the episode immediately afterwards

Dan Guisinger